Club Notes - June 26, 2019

Last week I delivered 26 dog beds to the Humane Society of Lake County.  They were very happy to get them.  I also dropped off 5 walker bags for Helpertunity and some quilts, pillowcases, and toiletries for the Ocala Domestic Violence Shelter.  Bev also delivered zipper bags to the Sheriff's Youth Ranch.  We got a nice thank you car from the Ranch, signed by a bunch of the kids.

A lady at Allamanda Quilters gave me 2 small sewing machines to donate to the Youth Ranch and several ladies worked this afternoon to make sure they are in working order before we sent them.  They only needed a few minor tweaks, like a new needle, bobbins, and a thread stop, so Bev will be sending them on their way.

We also received fabric donations from 3 different sources today, and several ladies helped me sort it all and cut up the unusable pieces.  We received 3 bolts and another large piece of home decor fabric which will be great for making duffle bags for next year's graduating class.  I am holding them aside so Ellen () can assess them when she gets back to us. 

Show and Tell:

Charlotte completes a stack of red, white and blue dryer sheet blocks and a tote bag.

B.J. showed the pillow she made from her flag block and a wall hanging she made for her nephew's wedding.

Bev showed a stack of doll clothes she finished and one in progress.

Donna showed her completed flag block and a hexagon table topper she finished.

Lynn Delgado showed a canvas bag she gave new life by covering it with fabric and wonder-under.

Lynn's Mom Audrey Philips made a BBQ apron for Lynn 



and also completed a zipper bag made in the embroidery hoop.  She did this in a class which showed her how to create her own quilting pattern.

Laura Tomich made a stack of tote bags for donation

and showed her mesh swim bag which she machine-embroidered with fun frog patterns.

Pat Pipa showed her finished flag pillow, made some more frogs and a zipper bag.

Mic Pickard made a walker bags.

Debbie Chapman showed her latest walker bag.

Carolyn Grasso completed a Hospice Veteran's quilt and gave it to me to show, since she couldn't join us this week.

I showed 2 charity quilts I finished.

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Today we worked on making 12.5" blocks and red, white and blue dryer sheet blocks  that can be used to make Hospice veterans' quilts.   Some of the dryer sheet blocks were turned in but I haven't counted them yet.  

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Next week I will be showing you how to make a tray that packs flat to use for your jewelry or other small items when you travel.

You will need 2 - 6" squares of fabric and either 4 snaps, 4 buttons, or 4 velcro dots.  I will supply batting.

I will be on vacation July 10 and 17th, so Pat Pipa will be running the meeting those dates.  Because i won't be here, we've changed the project schedule a bit.  Here is the revised plan:

10-Jul-19	Chenille Potholders	Pat Pipa / BJ Herter
17-Jul-19	Sewing Tool Bag	Linda Parr
24-Jul-19	Charity Projects  -Stuffed Toys	Lois Rose
31-Jul-19	Summer Pot Luck
07-Aug-19	Border Fabric Table Runner	Lois Rose

See you July 3rd.

Club Notes - June 19, 2019

Today's project was a very simple but practical one.  Many women find seat belts uncomfortable because they tend to cut into the neck because of the way the belt rests over the chest.  Today we made an easy seat belt adjuster, that changes the angle of the seat belt so it doesn't cut into the neck.  The same pattern can also be used to made appliance handle (refrigerator, oven, dishwasher) covers, just by making the item longer.  I'm attaching the instructions to my email. Please feel free to adjust as you see fit, since I made these instructions up and have already modified them 4 times. 

Show and Tell:

Mic Pickard made a bunch of stuffed teddy bears and cats (which started out from a rabbit pattern..), and put the finishing touches on 3 dolls we found in a donation bag. 

She also decorated a bunch of wine bags to cover the store names so we can donate them to the Ocala shelter.

Deb Chapman showed her finished flag from last week.

Eileen DiSanto decorated one of the wine bags.

Judy Mayer made 2 zipper bags and a fidget walker bag.

Pat Pipa made 2 walker bags and some zipper bags

Bev Minnerly made lingerie bags for herself and her daughter, and a zip bag.

Carol Thurston made a fidget walker bag.

Sue Campbell made a teddy bear

 Lynn has been staying home sewing for a few weeks and she showed all the stuff she made as gifts and is bringing north. 

She came with a bin full of fabric boxes, some cute kids purses, 

some midi and mondo bags,  a tote from a 2017 row by row pattern, 

a set of gingerbread place mats and table runner, and a baby quilt.

I showed a zipper bag for my tools that I made on my embroidery machine and a donation quilt I finished.

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Since we are between Memorial Day, Flag Day, and July 4th, I am still planning patriotic projects.

Next week I plan to bring all the patriotic fabric I have and we will work on Hospice Veterans quilts.  Anyone who wants can make red, white and blue dryer sheet blocks.  These can be used in the Hospice quilts or, if we get enough, an honor flight quilt.  For those who don't bring sewing machines there will be fabric to sort, iron and cut.  

Club Notes - June 12, 2019

I was wondering how many would brave the rain today, but there were 11 of us and the rain stopped shortly after our meeting started. A few of us did get a little wet coming in though.

We had several activities going on at once today.  Besides those working on today's flag project, I saw a couple of walker bags in progress and Debbie Chapman finished her mesh bag. 

 Carol Riggs chipped in to sort a box of 5" squares by color so they are ready too go into a quilt design.  Mic and Charlotte helped me with a couple of charity quilts by ironing the backing fabrics and cutting them so I could sew them back together in the correct size/shape.  We even got one of the 2 quilts pinned and ready for quilting before the end of the day.

Show & Tell

Pat Pipa made 2 mesh bags - one from our demo last week and a drawstring version from a class at Allamanda quilt chapter.

Donna Rissman finished her bag from last week, a zipper bag, and a dog bed.

Bev Minnerly showed her latest doll dress.

Carol Riggs made a paint apron for her granddaughter and a drawstring mesh bag.

Judy Mayer made a fidget walker bag and a stuffed frog.

Charlotte Cecilio took a set of patriotic dryer sheet blocks and made mirror image blocks for them so we can make them into a quilt.

I finished the quilting on 2 more of Roberta's quilt - a small lap quilt and a large full bed size quilt.  The small one will go to the Youth ranch and the larger one will go to the Ocala Shelter.

I also finished one of my own quilts.

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Today I showed everyone how to make a flag block that can be made into a pillow, wall hanging, or put into a patriotic quilt. 

 Several ladies finished the block:








I made one mistake in the supply list I sent out last week.  You need one more white square.  The correct fabric pieces and instructions are attached, but the instructions are sparse - more pictures than words, so I will provide some details here:
Sew the 9.5" red and white strips together as shown in the photo, red, white, red, white, red, white.

Sew the 16.5"  red and white strips together as shown in the photo -red, white, red, white, red.

Lay out the blue fabric as follows: 

3 blue 2.5" x 3" pieces in the first column1 blue 2.5" square, 1 white 2.5" square, and the other 2.5" blue square in the middle column.3 blue 2.5" x 3" pieces in the third column.
The white square in the middle of the star is a 2.5" square. To make the points, you need 2 more white squares, cut diagonally both ways to get 8 small triangles.  If you want the points to be a little larger, start with 2 slightly larger white squares, maybe 3" squares. 
Refer to the photo for placement of the triangles for the star points:Place a white triangle right side down on one of the squares above or below the white square.  The point of the triangle should be exactly opposite the corner it is to cover and the side points should extend over the sides of the square by about 1/4". Stitch it down from one edge to the other and then fold it over the stitch line so the point covers the corner of the square. Do the same for the adjacent corner of the block.Repeat for the other 2.5 " blue square and for the short side of 2 of the 2.5" by " pieces.
Sew the blue and white squares together as shown in the diagram to make a 9-patch block.Square off the star block and sew it to the 9.5" strips.Sew the result to the 16.5" strips to complete the flag.

I hope the above notes help supplement the info I attached to the email.
  
We ran out of projects on the schedule, so next week I have put in a little one.  If you are like me, the car seat belt always sits uncomfortably across the front of my chest and lands at a spot that irritates my neck.  Next week's project is to make a seat belt adjuster.  This same pattern can be made longer to make a cover for an oven or refrigerator handle to keep it clean.  All you need is a piece of scrap fabric.  I'll send the size in a separate email.
Hope to see you next week.